Female Body Concerns / Question
Published: September 30, 2005
Dear TeenHealthFX,
I am 17 yr old female and I have recently been diagnosed with endometriosis about 3 weeks ago. Now when I have sex it hurts and afterwards I will start urinating blood and I will to urinate all the time and it burns when I do. Do you have any idea why this might be happening?
Signed: Endometriosis
Dear Endometriosis,
Since you were diagnosed with endometriosis, FX assumes that you are seeing a doctor. This is good. Because FX is not sure how much discussion you have had about your diagnosis or what your treatment plan will be, lets start with the basics in understanding your diagnosis.
The endometrium is normal tissue that lines your uterus and bleeds when you menstruate. Endometriosis is a disorder that happens when tissue that is similar to the lining of your uterus develops in other areas such as in your ovaries, bowel, bladder and actually can occur anywhere in your body. Why does this happen, and what caused you to get it? Well, nobody is really sure what causes it, in fact many people are doing research about it and there are several theories in the works. However, we do know it is common in women during the years that they are getting their period. And there is no age limit, some doctors have had patients with endometriosis as young as 11 years old.
Now to get to the important part of the question - what you can feel like if you have endometriosis? The first thing to know is that not everyone who is diagnosed with endometriosis will feel the same things; in fact some women may have no symptoms at all. Some people have symptoms that are very bad, and others have only mild problems, some have just one of the symptoms and some have many. Pelvic pain is a very common symptom - especially during intercourse. Periods can also be very painful. Some people with endometriosis have frequent or heavy periods, although there are other causes of this. Some people also have rectal pain or constipation. Some will have pain during urination, and yes the disease can cause bloody urine. But urinating blood along with the burning you describe also sounds like it can be a urinary tract infection which is easily diagnosed and easily treated by a doctor’s visit and can be very dangerous if ignored… so make sure to go to a doctor about that!
What to do about the pain with sex and other symptoms of endometriosis – well there are several treatments that your doctor may discuss with you including birth control pills, other hormonal therapies, certain pain medications, surgery or just symptomatic relief. But only your doctor who knows your case the best can say what would be most helpful for you. . If you do not have a current doctor or gynecologist and live in the Northern New Jersey area you can contact the
Signed: TeenHealthFX
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